UNDER-fire Carlos Queiroz has received a forceful defence against accusations he branded Manchester United fans stupid - by the newspaper he reportedly made the comments in.

It was claimed Queiroz told Portuguese paper O’Jogo that the United supporters who chanted ’4-4-2’ during Saturday’s defeat to Blackburn proved ‘that is why football is a game in which imagination and, many times, stupidity has no limits’.

The former Real Madrid coach was stunned at the interpretation of the interview, which brought a mountain of criticism on supporter websites, even though Queiroz himself was spared any personal criticism during Tuesday’s Champions League win over Benfica.

Concerned United staff immediately launched an investigation into the comments and it has now been confirmed by senior staff at O’Jogo that, rather than attacking the club’s supporters, Queiroz was actually highlighting the wide range of decisions it was possible to be criticised for.

In a letter to Queiroz, O’Jogo editor Manuel Tavares confirmed: “Only a bad translation service could have allowed the phrase that you used to describe the wide range of criticism that football can be subjected to - from stupidity to imagination - could have been transformed into a criticism of Manchester United fans.

Misinterpretation

“This serious misinterpretation of your words caused great perplexity as your current statements (and those in the past) have shown your position to always be one where managers should respect criticism from the fans.”

Queiroz is scheduled to stand in for Sir Alex Ferguson at his weekly press conference on Friday.

And although the former Real Madrid coach is anxious to avoid a war over the reporting of his comments, he was extremely concerned at the allegation he had slated United’s vast fan base.

Such an attack could have caused irreparable damage to his hopes of succeeding Ferguson at some stage, so it is little surprise he has welcomed O’Jogo’s intervention.

“The comments attributed to me in the Press on Tuesday are not an accurate reflection of my view of the fans, or of what I said, as O’Jogo has testified,” said Queiroz.

“We have the best fans in football. Their loyalty, passion, support and respect for the team and the game are testament to this.

“I am only sorry that what I said was misinterpreted. I regret the misunderstanding that has occurred from the inaccurate translation but also the way it has been taken out of context from the interview as a whole.

“I can only think that this misinterpretation is to try and create factions between the club and its supporters.

“The fans of Manchester United deserve more than this blatant attempt to divide the club. Their wonderful support at the Benfica game demonstrates that this won’t work.”